Published originally in The Hill.
On April 13, a group of House members sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting an update on the Biden administration’s assessment of the U.S. relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The group, which includes senior members of House Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Intelligence, and other key committees, takes a dim view of the relationship and urges a continued pullback of U.S. support. However, given the pace and scale of changes in the region and the world, this view may be shortsighted.
Two years ago, the Biden administration would surely have agreed with the view of the letter’s authors. Mr. Biden came into office with a hostile view towards theKingdom, based on a number of factors including the coziness of former President Trump to Saudi leadership, the involvement of senior Saudis in thekilling of the dissident, U.S.-based journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi, and thekingdom’s human rights record. But much has changed in two years that should force a reassessment that balances America’s interests with its values.
First, Iran remains a highly destabilizing regional actor and an active state sponsor of terrorism. Tehran’s new hardline government has taken an aggressively anti-American view, and given the resurgence of Iran’s nuclear program, is an existential threat to our main regional ally, Israel. Saudi Arabia, for its part, is the regional counterweight to Iran’s regional ambitions and a check on Iran’s power, which includes its missile capabilities and its regional reach into Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. The U.S. needs a strong Saudi Arabia to help keep Iran in line, which means military and intelligence support must continue.
Second, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has precipitated an energy crisis the likes of which haven’t been since the OPEC oil shocks of the 1970s. Indeed, theInternational Monetary Fund has cut its global growth estimates for 2022 and 2023 as the war drives food and energy prices higher, piling pressure on already fragile economies. Russian oil — which is the target of global sanctions — accounts for more than 8 percent of global supply. Russian gas accounts for more than 30 percent of Europe’s gas for home heating, industry, and electricity generation. As a key piece to global energy supply, the U.S. has already sought Saudi assistance to fill the energy gap. It is dangerous to treat Riyadh as a pariah when global interests are at stake.
Third, the diplomatic breakthroughs known as the Abraham Accords, which have brought about rapprochement of Israel with a number of Arab and Muslim states, including Bahrain, Morocco and UAE, have changed the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. However, this new era of diplomatic relations cannot be consolidated without Saudi Arabia, nor can these nations be a united front against Tehran without Riyadh.
A once in a lifetime opportunity to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East is endangered by U.S.-Saudi tensions. The Biden administration should not burn all of its bridges to Riyadh. Indeed, the president should continue his outreach to the KSA and build upon the relationship as a partnership based on our many shared interests. This is the surest way to restore confidence and influence, which can in turn effect change that reflects U.S. values.
